120 prisoners in Al-Naqab suspend hunger strike, decide to escalate

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The Prisoners Information Office announced that 120 Palestinian prisoners will suspend their hunger strike in Al-Naqab prison and have decided to engage in an escalatory step, which is to dissolve their organization, meaning that the Israeli occupation will have to deal with them individually and not as a group. 

For its part, the Ministry of Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners in Gaza said the decision to dissolve the organizations would have a greater impact on the prison administration, stressing that the strike step remains in place as an option for the prisoners and will be resorted to when needed. 

In the meantime, Hamas held, in a statement, the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the consequences of escalating its aggression against the prisoners inside the detention centers and prisons.

The movement added, "The attack on female prisoners crossed all red lines, and we will not accept, no matter how challenging, this aggression on our brave women, who prove day after day the greatness of the Palestinian female prisoners in the face of the fascism of the occupation."

Earlier in the day, Waed Association announced the failure of the dialogue session that was held yesterday in Al-Naqab prison between the prisoners' representatives and the occupation Prison Service.

The Association reported earlier that 120 prisoners in Al-Naqab prison were continuing their hunger strike for the second day after the occupation refused to end the arbitrary punishments, noting that the female prisoners in “Damon” prison were subjected to brutal attacks since the morning by the forces of repression.

The notorious crackdown on female prisoners

The Israeli occupation's Prison Service cracked down on female prisoners since early morning, subjecting them to brutal practices, Waed reported.

The Association further warned that "there are no clear details about what is happening."

The Palestinian Prisoners' Information Office confirmed that the Palestinian prisoners closed all sections in all occupation prisons in the "Ofer, Megiddo, Al-Naqab, and Damon" prisons, protesting the occupation's punitive measures against them.

In an updated development, the Association revealed that IOF soldiers assaulted a number of female prisoners in "Damon" prison. In response, the female prisoners rebelled and set fire to their cells. The "Damon" Prison authority fired tear gas and pepper spray into their wards.

The "situation is tense in all occupation prisons, escalatory steps will be taken in retaliation to the assault and injustice against female prisoners," the Association warned.

It is worth noting that the IOF's repressive practices include pepper spray, sonic grenades, rubber-coated steel bullets, and batons, not to mention police dogs. The Palestinian prisoners can also be subjected to severe beatings, the confiscation of their electric tools, and enforcing a general prohibition on phone communication.

The prisoners, who are housed in camps, caravans, and mobile cells, are severely overcrowded, especially during the harsh weather conditions of summer and winter.

The Israeli occupation is notorious for vandalizing prisoners' property during crackdowns, destroying anything they lay their eyes upon, including the prison's canteen.

The spokesperson for the Prisoners' Information Office, Hazem Hassanein, tersely stated the Israeli crackdown on female Palestinian prisoners in "Damon" is a hazardous transgression of all red lines.

"The occupation's abuses towards female detainees portend a serious Intifada in Israeli prisons," he continued.